


The Concert

by tinydooms



Category: Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Genre: Gen, Parent-Child Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-02
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-10-27 01:07:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10798554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinydooms/pseuds/tinydooms
Summary: The castle staff attend a concert in the ballroom. Julia and the Beast listen in. A stand-alone scene that just didn't fit into "What We May Be".





	The Concert

Author's Note: This scene wrote itself out in my head a few nights ago. I couldn't find a place to put it in "What We May Be", but I like it too much to leave it alone. I hope you all like it!

**The Concert**

 

     When Julia went up to bed that night, she found a pink silk confection laid out on her bed beside her nightgown. She stared. It looked like the banyan that Monsieur Adam wore in the evenings, when he had taken off his coat and waistcoat, only with a ribbon to tie it shut.

     “Madame?”

     “Yes, _cara mia_?” Madame de Garderobe's voice was far too innocent.

     “What's this?”

     “A dressing gown,” the wardrobe said and preempting her, added, “And yes, _ragazza_ , it's pink. Pink like a rose in May. And you will wear it whenever you want to go about the castle in your nightgown. No arguments.”

     Julia looked at the dressing gown. It was quilted for warmth, and trimmed with deeper rose ribbons, and had pockets for her dollies. It _was_ beautiful. She went to Madame de Garderobe and hugged her, which was awkward considering she was a wardrobe. It was kind of Madame to notice that Julia sometimes sneaked down to the kitchen late at night for a snack, and to dress her for it. It was nicer than wearing her coat.

     Later, in bed, Julia couldn't settle. She wasn't tired, not really, even with lessons all day and the long ride she had taken Cider on that afternoon. She thought of the book she had started to read, about a family of cats abandoned in the countryside after their mistress's wicked butler decided they stood between him and his inheritance. It was a cracking good story, Julia thought, only she had left it in the library. Well, that was easily fixed. She would fetch the book and read in bed until she was sleepy. And thanks to Madame de Garderobe, she now had the clothes to do it in.

     Slipping out of bed and into her dressing gown and slippers, Julia hurried out of her bedroom, out of the East Wing towards the library. As she went, she thought she heard something, and stopped. Music. Music?

     Curious, Julia followed the sound through the corridors until she reached the grand staircase. It was dark in the castle, but not particularly late (Mrs. Potts had decreed Julia's bedtime to be eight o'clock). The fire was burning down in the front hall fireplace, and the only light came from the ballroom, whose door was propped open. Inside, Maestro Cadenza was playing a harpsichord piece, all tinkling keys like rain falling on a summer's day; as she reached the top of the stairs, there was a burst of applause. Julia was intrigued. What was going on? She crept further down the staircase, and suddenly came upon Monsieur Adam, sitting at the top of the last flight of stairs, hidden behind the column at the head of the banister. He turned towards Julia as she crept down the stairs, holding a finger to his lips.

     “Let's not disturb them,” he whispered.

     Julia tiptoed to his side. In the ballroom, Maestro Cadenza and Chapeau had launched into a sprightly number. “What are they doing?”

     “They're having a concert,” Monsieur Adam whispered. “They have one every month or so and have since the early days.”

     Julia sat down next to him on the top step. “And you're not invited?”

     “It's for the staff,” Monsieur Adam replied. “To keep their spirits up. They've never actually told me they do it; I found out quite by accident.”

     “So why don't you go sit in the ballroom?” Julia found this rather perplexing.

     Monsieur Adam shrugged, pleating the folds of his banyan between his fingers. “Because I want them to enjoy themselves. Listen to them-they're happy.” He paused to let Julia hear the laughter and applause from the ballroom. “When I walk into a room, laughter dies. So I don't. I can hear the music just as well from here.”

     This struck Julia as incredibly sad. Poor old Monsieur Adam, hiding outside and away from the laughter and fun. Seeing her face, he patted her shoulder.

     “Listen: this is Bach's Concerto for Two Violins. The maestro tweaked it a bit for himself and Chapeau.”

     Julia listened. The music was unlike anything she had ever heard before, a riot of whirling and plunking. She liked it.

     “Do you listen to every concert?” she whispered.

     “I've missed a few,” Monsieur Adam whispered back. “Listen now: this is Vivaldi's Concerto in G.”

     For a while they sat in companionable silence, listening to the concert, Monsieur Adam murmuring the names of the pieces played into Julia's ear. Julia felt herself lulled by the music, her restlessness giving way to comfortable sleepiness. This was nice. They had moved away from the sprightlier pieces into music that was slower, winding down towards the end of the concert. Julia found herself leaning on Monsieur Adam's arm. He looked down at her, surprised, but didn't say anything, and Julia didn't bother to move. But at last, they heard Maestro Cadenza announce the last piece, and Monsieur Adam shifted.

     “Right, now, as soon as the music ends we must run straight to our rooms,” he said. “They mustn't know we were here. Can you keep our presence a secret?”

     Julia smiled. “Of course.”

     “Good.” Monsieur Adam smiled back. “This is a piece the Maestro wrote himself.”

     The music was soft and delicate, sad. It seemed filled with longing, and made Julia's heart ache. But there was hope in it, too, and she found herself comforted. When it ended, in the midst of the staff's applause, Monsieur Adam nudged her. They leaped up, each to run up their separate staircase. At the top of the East Wing stairs, Julia looked back at Monsieur Adam. He waved at her to go on, and disappeared up his staircase towards his rooms. Thoughtfully, Julia made her way to bed.

     She thought that perhaps tomorrow she would invite Monsieur Adam to join her cooking lesson. She didn't like the thought of him wasting away in his lonely tower. That was no way to live. Climbing into bed, Julia reflected on loneliness. No wonder Monsieur Adam was such a grump. Yes, tomorrow she would do something about it. And she would find a way to ask Maestro Cadenza to teach her music. And with that thought, Julia fell asleep.

 

 


End file.
